Post-Structuralism: An Indian Preview - Igcollege.org

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nanded
and observation only with the help of
“language.”Conversation remained the
fundamental constitutive element of all
novelistic style as well as controlling image.
Therefore, no unity in the language, the author’s
comment is found at any of the novels language
level. It shows that literary language is not
represented precisely but a mixture is found, as
compared to that of other forms of literature.
Therefore, author’s language is used in the
novel. During the initial part, only two factors of
the novels are considered. They are ‘laughter’
and ‘Polyglossia.’ These two factors in the
prehistory of the novelistic discourse are the
subjects of the present essay.
In the second part of the essay Bakhtin
talks about how the various factors from ancient
time paved the way for giving independent
identity to the novel. Parody, according to him is
one of the ancient ‘direct word’ methods, which
was used in poetry. A parody may represent
ridicule these features of the sonnets. It is also
used in periodic epic. He says that Homer in his”
War between the Nice and the Frogs” has used
parody. Therefore, periodic travestying, that is
comic and serious treatment together in a text
which was found in Roman Literature. The
language broke through the grim atmosphere of
seriousness of the middle ages to produce the
work, as part of Renaissance in literature. For
this reason Roman literature which is identified
as low literature created immense number of
periodic-travestying forms. The provided satires,
epigrams, table talks, folk arts etc. It was,
therefore, Rome that taught European culture,
how to laugh and ridicule. Therefore it is a shift
from parody to periodic-travestying played key
role in giving shape to novel, rather it is skit
from language to style, style to parody and
parody to periodic-travestying. Therefore,
language itself serves as a means of the direct
expression. In this new context the “Image of
language” or image becomes direct word. So,
language, parody dialogic, scene from everyday
life, humor etc. brought together in the novel,
the Bakhtin calls it “Heteroglossia” to make the
novel whole. One who creates a direct wordwhether
epic; tragedy or lyric deals with the
meaning and the object and themes are born and
grow to maturity in the language. Therefore, the
power of a language dominated in literature says
Bakhtin.
It is not the one language but many
languages come together and form a single
language, Bakhtin calls it “Polyglossia.” For
instance Roman Greek and Latin contribute a lot
in the term “Polyglossia” such diversity or
hybridization is influencing in the growth of
novel. Even the Roman Literature at the outset
was characterized by trilingulism. This
Polyglossia is also called interlamination. The
interlamination of major national languages like
Latin and Greek can be seen. Therefore, the
speech diversity within languages, thus, has
primary importance for the novel. Its full
creative consciousness only under conditioned
of an active polyglossia.
In the third and final part of the essay,
Mikhail Bakhtin talks about stylistic problems
during Hellenistic period. It was the problem of
quotations. The quotations were varied
sometime direct half hidden and some time
directly hidden. The boundary lines between
someone else’s speech and one’s own speech
were flexible, ambiguous, often deliberately
distorted and confused. On the other hand the
role of parody in middle age was extremely
important. But in modern time the function of
parody are narrow and unproductive, parody has
grown sickly. It pared the way for a new literary
and linguistic consciousness as well as for the
great Renaissance of the novel. Apart from this
medieval scholar apparently tools this
grammatical treatise completely, seriously and
contemporary scholars are far from unanimous.
The important genres such as “sortie” and
“Rabelais and Cervantes” laid the foundation for
the novelistic world.
Conclusion:
While concluding, the writer says that
primarily the familiar strata of folk language that
played such an enormous role in the formulation
of novelistic discourse and composition of the
novel as a genre. He reemphasize that the
novelistic word arose and developed not as a
result of narrow literary struggle among
tendencies, style, abstract word- views-but rather
in a complex centuries long struggle of cultures
114 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1